


Rebirth

by Laequiem



Category: The Folk of the Air - Holly Black
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Cardan pov, F/M, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, I sold my soul to these idiots and I don't want it back, Sad and Happy, i just want them to hug each other all the time, sad babies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-24 07:28:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30068784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laequiem/pseuds/Laequiem
Summary: Cardan POV of the hug scene from Queen of Nothing.
Relationships: Jude Duarte/Cardan Greenbriar
Comments: 10
Kudos: 82





	Rebirth

Battle rages around the Serpent. Bipeds clad in silver and copper chitin clash swords and shields, fighting over this territory that does not belong to them.

Territory that belongs to  _ it. _ The Serpent knows this with absolute certainty, and it will defend its territory with its life. Poison it, if it means the vermin will cease their invasion. 

A little way away from battle stands the only figure the Serpent knows. The female clad in golden armor. She is the only other who can lay claim to this land.

They lock eyes, and the Serpent makes its way to her. She raises the golden thing she is holding and the Serpent rears back, feeling the wrongness emanating from it. It screams of danger and death, of rotten food and disease. 

The female says words the Serpent does not understand. It only knows that she means it no harm. After all, in this ocean of hatred, she is the star it follows to steer itself. Her words sound soothing, not like the harsh tone the other warriors take.

When she approaches and reaches a hand to touch it, the Serpent lets her. It stares as she unsheathes her weapon.

Stares as she raises her blade.

Stares as she brings it down.

And the world goes black.

* * *

If this is death, I am utterly unimpressed. I do not know how I ended up covered in blood and guts on a muddy floor, but here I am. Around me are mounds of pale flesh covered in a thin layer of scales. I get up and hear gasps around me. 

At the sight of the slayed beast, I remember.

The curse that burdened me all my life.

The throne being split in two.

Breaking the Blood Crown and… turning.

I remember hatred and anger, the never-ending need for revenge that fueled my every thought. They who felt but indifference for me for almost two decades cowered before the Serpent.

Except her—Jude. For she was never indifferent to me, her defiance burned as bright as my rage. She kept giving me reasons to both be awful to her and completely enamored of her. Jude, who broke the curse and saved Elfhame. Saved me.

I take a step forward and feel the ground shudder under my feet. Roots move in the ground, as if my power woke with me. I raise my chin high and let the power rise in me, a great wave of magic I can only begin to fathom. 

"The curse is broken." My throat is so dry, I am surprised I can even muster the words. "The king is returned."

I barely notice the soldiers staring at me, the people kneeling before me. All I can do is scan the crowd for Jude, and when I finally see her, she is running towards me. She is covered in blood and—is she smiling? I do not have time to notice more before we collide, her arms wrapping tightly around me.

I waste no time wrapping my own arms around her, crushing her to me. The cold of her armor stings against my bare chest, yet I have never felt so warm. She came for me. She cared enough to fight a giant snake to ensure I would not spend the rest of my days hurting. 

A shudder that has nothing to do with the cold travels down my spine. Nobody has ever held me like this before and now that she does, I want us to stay like this forever. I have never felt so vulnerable, yet so safe. This is more intimate than anything we have ever done. I feel my eyes sting as a sob builds in my chest. I clutch at her back, my nails digging slightly in her skin. 

She must have been so scared to show  _ affection _ towards me in front of so many people.

This fierce mortal fought me with words and swords all our lives. Now, she holds me and all my broken pieces.

My wife, my seneschal, my… friend. Our relationship is a tangled mess of repressed feelings and trauma. But as we hold each other, the shadows of my past scurry away.

The sound of plate armor clanking as someone approaches pulls me away from my thoughts.

I squeeze Jude once, then pull away from her.

I straighten, willing myself back to the role of the High King.

And I face the future.

**Author's Note:**

> Do I have other WIPs to finish? yes  
> Did I write this instead? yes  
> anyyywayyyyy I'm on tumblr @[laequiem](http://laequiem.tumblr.com)


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